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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: etchmeister who wrote (19105)	5/25/2006 8:09:44 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

Intel Remains Hopeful on Demand Outlook Thursday May 25, 3:47 am ET Intel Remains Hopeful on Demand Outlook for Its Chips in Second Half of 2006 KULIM, Malaysia (AP) -- Intel Corp. is sticking to its demand outlook for its chips in the second half of 2006 despite intense competition, its chief executive said Thursday. The world's biggest chipmaker told analysts last month that it expects the second half of the year to bring better news after reporting a 38 percent profit decline for the first quarter. Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini, on a visit to Malaysia, reiterated that the company plans to "retake" market share over the six months. "(There's) no change for the outlook," he told reporters in response to a question on whether rivalry with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will hurt demand. Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, is by far the biggest provider of chips that serve as the brains of personal computers. But the company has run into a series of problems, including stiffer competition from rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Otellini was in Malaysia's northern Kedah state to launch a $40 million design and development center. Asked whether Intel plans to spin off its memory chip business, which could include an initial share offer, Otellini said, "We are not currently thinking about those kind of things." On Intel's ongoing 90-day business review, he said, "We will evaluate as we go along." Otellini has previously said he is confident Intel will regain market share in the second half of the year, once the company starts shipping chips based on a new blueprint. Dubbed the "Core" micro architecture, the design will deliver as much as 40 percent better performance while consuming 40 percent less power compared with Intel's current top offerings.

To: etchmeister who wrote (19105)	5/25/2006 10:16:57 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

Catania investment is one option, says Freescale Colin Holland EETUK.com (05/25/2006 4:25 AM EDT) LONDON — Working with STMicroelectronics to equip a 300-mm wafer fab in Catania, Italy, is one of three options for adding manufacturing capacity under consideration by Freescale Semiconductor, according to Denis Griot, the company's senior vice president. Earlier this week, Carlo Bozotti, ST's president and chief executive officer, said the chip maker was looking for partnersto share the cost of equipping the fab. Griot confirmed to EE Times UK that Freescale is considering such an investment. Griot, who also manages Freescale's operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, was the key negotiator when Freescale (then Motorola Semiconductor) joined the Crolles 2 chip project in which it cooperates with ST and Philips Semiconductor on process and IP development. Griot spoke at the Europartners Distribution Forum in Paris. When asked by EE Times UK if investing in Catania was under consideration, Griot said, "I think a lot of the Crolle technology will migrate to proprietary fabs in addition to TSMC, as it does today. And of course we are considering the scenario you mentioned. But there are other scenarios which are more in Asia but also in North America." Griot added, "The final decision has definitely not been taken and this is just one scenario among three we are considering."

To: etchmeister who wrote (19105)	5/25/2006 10:17:25 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25522

Chip equipment '06 sales to rise 23% -VLSI Research Thu May 25, 2006 AMSTERDAM, May 25 (Reuters) - Sales of machines to make semiconductors will rise much faster in 2006 than initially forecast due to strong demand for electronic goods such as mobile phones, a market research group said on Thursday. Worldwide sales of chipmaking equipment are expected to rise to $62.8 billion in 2006, up 23.2 percent from 2005, against initial forecasts for a 13 percent increase, according to U.S. chip market research group VLSI Research. The increase in the forecast was prompted by strong first-quarter equipment sales of $15 billion, 20 percent more than the prior quarter and 9.5 percent above the year-ago period. Due to underinvestment in 2005, chip makers are now scrambling to get their hands on new equipment, as witnessed by a sharp order increase at ASML, the world's biggest chip lithography machine maker. ASML said earlier this week that orders in the second quarter would rise 40 percent from the first quarter, up sharply from a forecast last month of flat order intake. But VLSI Research warned that the surge in investment may be too much and that a correction loomed in the second half of the year. The ratio of investment in equipment to sales of chips is running at 31 percent this year, which means that for every dollar of revenues, 31 cents are being invested. This is well above the healthy investment ratio of 20 percent, VLSI Research said.